5-year voting ban for electoral offenders constitutional- Supreme Court
In a unanimous decision, a seven-member panel led by Chief Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie held that the case brought by human rights activist Fred Akweter lacked merit.
The Supreme Court has thrown out a constitutional challenge to the law that bars people convicted of electoral offences from registering to vote or casting ballots for five years after serving their sentences.
In a unanimous decision, a seven-member panel led by Chief Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie held that the case brought by human rights activist Fred Akweter lacked merit.
The court said its full reasons would be made available on or before 5 May 2026.
The suit had asked the apex court to declare unconstitutional portions of the Representation of the People Law, 1992, which impose not only criminal penalties for certain election-related offences but also a temporary loss of voting rights after conviction.
Akweter, who is a private legal practitioner, argued that Article 42 of the 1992 Constitution grants every Ghanaian of sound mind and at least 18 years old the right to vote, and that the Constitution itself does not list conviction for an electoral offence as a basis for disqualification.
His case was that Parliament could not, by ordinary legislation, add a new barrier to voting beyond the limits expressly set out in the Constitution.
The challenged provisions cover a range of electoral misconduct, including false statements during voter registration, double registration, ballot-related offences, unlawful voting, obstruction of voters, bribery and undue influence.
According to the plaintiff, once a person has already been punished for such offences, any further denial of voting rights amounts to an unconstitutional restriction on a fundamental right.
He relied in part on earlier jurisprudence affirming the voting rights of prisoners, arguing that the same constitutional logic should protect people who have completed their sentences.
The defendants in the case were the Electoral Commission and the Attorney-General.
By dismissing the action, the Supreme Court has left intact the legal framework that imposes a five-year voting disqualification on persons convicted of specified electoral offences.
The panel included Justices Samuel Adibu Asiedu, Richard Adjei-Frimpong, Sir Dennis Dominic Adjei, Senyo Dzamefe, Janapare Adzua Bartels-Kodwo and Kweku Tawiah Ackaah-Boafo.
